God, oh God, are you there?
As I was busy munching down two servings of Country Style Spaghetti (the best! burp!), I was reading about this Washington lobbyist who wanted to represent atheists in the Republican-dominated (translation: ultra-conservative) US Government. I was thinking that either she's really smart or conversely very, very jaded.
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"Brown likens atheists today to gays in the 1970s: people just coming out of the closet to fight for acceptance. 'There's been so much rhetoric in the past decade about how important religion is to being a good person,' she says, that 'it's been scary' for people to say they don't believe in God. She vows to 'use the A-word and not cringe.'"
In a recent Pew Research Center poll, 11% said they do not believe in God but do believe in a "universal spirit" or "higher power"; 3% said they do not believe in God or a spirit or power. In a separate question, 1% said they are atheists (those who believe there is no God), 2% said they are agnostics (those unsure whether there is a God), and 11% said they have no religious preference."
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I was reminded of a speech I made in college for Communication III. The topic of a close friend of mine, Mandy, was about Angels. Then, when it was my turn, I talked about atheism and religiosity. My friend overheard a classmate telling another classmate, "How can they be friends?" Yup, sometimes friendship can come across barriers of religion.
Anyway, I showed them the matrix explaining Pascal's wager.
This states that:
- if God exists, and you believe that there is a God, then you gain all, a place inside the pearly gates of heaven.
- if God exists, and you believe that there is no God, then you are in trouble, a place in the burning furnaces of HELL.
- If God does not exist and you believe that there is a God, nothing. You just go back to the nothingness from which you came from.
- If God does not exist and you believe that there is no God, again nothing. You just go back to the nothingness from which you came from and you didn't live in delusion that you are doing good just to go in heaven.
This may be a childish logic to explain the importance of believing in God. But sometimes, when you're very afraid, and there's nothing else to turn to... belief in God can give you comfort and strength.
How can you lead a country if you don't believe in a Godlike figure? How can you comfort your constituents whose properties were ravished by a tragic hurricane or war?
I don't know the answer but C.S Lewis also said, "just act as if you believe in God... and sooner or later... you'll start to believe it and life will be confined to simple biblical supposed truths!"
As I was busy munching down two servings of Country Style Spaghetti (the best! burp!), I was reading about this Washington lobbyist who wanted to represent atheists in the Republican-dominated (translation: ultra-conservative) US Government. I was thinking that either she's really smart or conversely very, very jaded.
-------------------------
"Brown likens atheists today to gays in the 1970s: people just coming out of the closet to fight for acceptance. 'There's been so much rhetoric in the past decade about how important religion is to being a good person,' she says, that 'it's been scary' for people to say they don't believe in God. She vows to 'use the A-word and not cringe.'"
In a recent Pew Research Center poll, 11% said they do not believe in God but do believe in a "universal spirit" or "higher power"; 3% said they do not believe in God or a spirit or power. In a separate question, 1% said they are atheists (those who believe there is no God), 2% said they are agnostics (those unsure whether there is a God), and 11% said they have no religious preference."
-------------------------
I was reminded of a speech I made in college for Communication III. The topic of a close friend of mine, Mandy, was about Angels. Then, when it was my turn, I talked about atheism and religiosity. My friend overheard a classmate telling another classmate, "How can they be friends?" Yup, sometimes friendship can come across barriers of religion.
Anyway, I showed them the matrix explaining Pascal's wager.
This states that:
- if God exists, and you believe that there is a God, then you gain all, a place inside the pearly gates of heaven.
- if God exists, and you believe that there is no God, then you are in trouble, a place in the burning furnaces of HELL.
- If God does not exist and you believe that there is a God, nothing. You just go back to the nothingness from which you came from.
- If God does not exist and you believe that there is no God, again nothing. You just go back to the nothingness from which you came from and you didn't live in delusion that you are doing good just to go in heaven.
This may be a childish logic to explain the importance of believing in God. But sometimes, when you're very afraid, and there's nothing else to turn to... belief in God can give you comfort and strength.
How can you lead a country if you don't believe in a Godlike figure? How can you comfort your constituents whose properties were ravished by a tragic hurricane or war?
I don't know the answer but C.S Lewis also said, "just act as if you believe in God... and sooner or later... you'll start to believe it and life will be confined to simple biblical supposed truths!"
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